'In reality that would have been two points out of six against Stoke but unfortunately it's a cup competition and my lads had to play another 30 minutes which is the last thing any of us needed. Some of those lads haven't played for three or four weeks, especially at this level so the score line was a little unfair on us.'

Holloway also picked out two youngsters for their performances on the night.

'Hiram Boateng is only 17 and he's made his debut and he will never forget it, I thought it was terrific. Matty Parsons has been on loan at Wycombe and couldn't get a game and I don't get that as he was brilliant at left back.'

In typical Holloway fashion, he also again addressed the Zaha speculation.

'I need to go shopping most weeks, I run out of milk and bread. You can't do that though, if you're a Premier League team and you run out of centre forwards, you can't go shopping until the window opens. Then there's a mad rush in January.'